Artist's Touch (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
by ilna
Summary: Angie has a specific partner in mind for her afternoon craft.


**Notes:** Thanks to Mari and Sammy for being their usual awesome selves. Special thanks to Mari for the story idea.

Readers and REAL McRollers - Thank you for your amazing support! It is always appreciated.

**Hope you enjoy!**

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_Artist's Touch (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)_

"Apa?" Angie asked as Elizabeth pulled the car into a parking lot outside of the craft store.

"We have one more quick stop to make before we go home and see Apa," Elizabeth said, turning off the ignition and looking back at Angie in her carseat. "We're going to pick out a present for your cousin Joan. She loves crafts so I thought we'd send her a kit as a kindergarten graduation present. Don't you think she'll like that?"

Angie beamed at the mention of her cousin. "Noni!" she cried, raising both arms in the air and bringing them back down in an exuberant gesture.

"That's right, angel, for Joanie," Elizabeth said, smiling affectionately. She got out of the car and walked around to open Angie's door. After unbuckling the wiggly toddler, she lifted her out and shut the door behind her. "Let's go pick out something fun for her to do!"

"Yay!" Angie said, matching her grandmother's excitement.

Inside the store, Elizabeth got Angie settled into one of the small shopping carts and pushed her to the aisle containing a wide array of craft kits for kids.

"Okay, let's see what Joan might like," Elizabeth said, slowly scanning the shelves.

"Ama!" Angie said, pointing at some brightly colored boxes to her right. "See!"

"I see. Lots of slime kits. I'm sure Joan would love those, but she makes slime quite a bit. Let's see if we can find something she's never made before."

They continued to look, Angie pointing at anything and everything that caught her eye.

"Ohh look at this, Angie," Elizabeth said, taking a box from the shelf. "It's a heart-shaped jewelry box. You know, Joan always likes looking at the things in your mommy's special butterfly box in her bedroom. Maybe she'd like to have her own special box. And this one she can decorate herself with these little mosaic pieces. What do you think?" She held the box in front of Angie who immediately pointed to a section of the mosaic design.

"Puh'pul," she said.

Elizabeth smiled warmly, bending down to kiss her head. "Yes, my brilliant girl, that's purple."

"Excuse me," a voice said from behind her. "Could we sneak past you?"

Elizabeth turned to see a woman with a girl of about six or seven behind her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said, angling the shopping cart and pushing it over a little so there was more room. "Here we are just blocking the aisle." She smiled apologetically at the other customers. "We were having so much fun looking around."

"No problem," the woman said with an easy smile. "This is our favorite aisle, isn't it, Charlotte? We have a lot of fun looking around, too."

"Hi!" Angie said, giving the girl a wave.

The girl, Charlotte, brightened at the attention from the toddler. "Ohh, you're so cute."

Elizabeth smiled. "Thank you."

"Tank yuu," Angie repeated automatically, causing the girl to giggle.

Elizabeth chuckled, then her expression grew thoughtful. "If this is your favorite aisle, maybe you can give us some advice. We're looking for a gift for my great-niece. She's probably just a little younger than you. Have you ever done one of these sticky mosaic projects before?" She looked between the girl and the woman.

"You've done a few of those, right, Charlotte?"

The girl nodded. "They're pretty fun. You just have to follow the numbers. They tell you where to put the different colors. Like the pink goes on number one and the purple goes on number two," she explained.

"Oh, I see," Elizabeth said, taking a closer look at a small photo on the box. "It's a pattern."

The woman seemed to sense her train of thought. "I wonder if they still have the kit you made last year, Charlotte. It had little adhesive gemstones you could put anywhere on the box so there was more freedom for expression," she explained to Elizabeth as she moved down the aisle to look.

"I like the sound of that," Elizabeth said.

"Here it is. Remember this, Charlotte?"

"Oh yeah!" the girl said, coming over to her.

"Oh, that's perfect," Elizabeth said, pushing her cart with Angie closer. "Patterns are all well and good, but I love when there's more opportunity for kids to be creative."

"Exactly," the woman agreed. She looked at her daughter. "You had a lot of fun making this, but now I can't even remember seeing it in your room."

Charlotte made a face as she thought. Elizabeth chuckled to see Angie try to imitate her.

"I think it's in my closet," the little girl finally said. She shrugged. "I thought it was a jewelry box but my necklaces didn't all fit in there."

"Oh my," Elizabeth said with a smile. "A box like that shouldn't be in the closet. You know, my daughter has a box she keeps on her dresser with all her very special things in it. And most of those things aren't even jewelry. I bet you've got some special things you could keep in yours."

Charlotte's eyes lit up. "Like the penny I found on my birthday!" she said. "It's extra birthday lucky!"

"Exactly," Elizabeth said, smiling.

"I'm gonna find my box when we get home, Mom," Charlotte said.

"I think that's a great idea," her mother said.

"So do I," Elizabeth agreed. She took the kit the woman had found. "And I think this will be just right for my great-niece's present. She's very creative, too. Thank you for helping us." She showed the box to Angie. "What do you think, angel? Will Joan like this one?"

"Noni puh'pul!" Angie said, pointing to the purple trim in the photo of the finished product.

Elizabeth grinned. "I think we have a winner."

* * *

"Well, what do we have here?" Joseph asked as he entered the dining room where Elizabeth and Angie were sitting. Elizabeth was opening a small, colorful package and putting the foam pieces on the table.

"Buh'pwy, Apa," Angie said, reaching for the large blue cut out of a butterfly to show him.

"A butterfly," he repeated with a smile. "Look at that."

"We were in the checkout lane at the craft store and she managed to grab it from where it was hanging," Elizabeth told him. "As soon as I told her you'd like it, she wanted to bring it home."

"Apa hewp do," Angie said, pushing the pieces toward the empty chair beside her and then pointing emphatically.

"Oh, you know, crafts are more your grandma's strong suit," he began.

"Apa," she insisted, looking up at him with hopeful eyes. "Apa hewp do."

He smiled, easily giving in. "Okay, Grandpa will help you do it." He sat down and took the blue cut out Angie held out to him.

"Buh'pwy," she said.

"Those are the butterfly's wings," he said. He reached for another piece. "And this is the body. Let's put this in the middle like they have on the picture there and then you can decorate the wings." He peeled the backing off and laid the piece in the center of the wings. "Press here, Angie."

She followed his lead and pressed her fingers on the foam to stick it into place. She grinned at the feeling and pressed harder.

"Okay, now pick what you want to put on the wings," Elizabeth said, tapping the table next to the random assortment of small pieces in various shapes and colors.

Angie picked up a yellow circle and tried to peel the back off as she'd seen Joseph do but struggled. "Apa hewp," she said, holding it out to him after a few fruitless attempts.

He removed the paper for her and she put the circle right onto the green body, immediately reaching for a second piece.

"Another yellow one?" he asked, helping her with that paper as well.

"Lellow," she repeated.

They continued in this vein for several minutes as it became clear that Angie intended to put every single foam piece onto the butterfly, even if that meant overlapping some of them. Though the sample picture was in full view, she never looked at it, obviously preferring to create her own design.

Elizabeth sat back and watched the interaction, the sight of her retired naval captain husband putting together a colorful foam butterfly with the toddler bringing a wide smile to her face.

Joseph caught her expression and quirked an eyebrow in question.

She shook her head. "Just enjoying the moment," she said. "It's a new experience. You in craft-mode."

He smiled. "You're right. I remember coloring with Catherine from time to time when she was young, but she wasn't that interested in crafts. And you mostly handled that side of things, anyway," he said.

She stretched a hand across the back of Angie's chair to reach his arm, giving it a squeeze. "Who knew you'd have such an artist's touch?" she gently teased.

"She's the artist," he countered with a smile. "I'm just handling the grunt work."

"Apa," Angie's voice cut in. She held out a purple shape toward him insistently. "Hewp!"

He smiled apologetically at her. "I'm sorry, honey." He peeled the paper off, giving Elizabeth a wink. "Neglecting my one job and slowing down the creative flow."

They continued for a few more minutes until Angie had placed every foam piece on her butterfly. After the final shape, she looked around the table. "Mo', Apa?"

"They're all gone," he told her. "You did them all."

She looked between him and Elizabeth and back at the butterfly. She smiled at her creation and patted it with one hand.

"It looks beautiful, sweetheart," Elizabeth said. "You and Apa make a great team."

"We do," Joseph agreed. "And you know what else? I know just the person we should give this to."

* * *

"Mama!" Angie squealed happily when Catherine came through the condo's front door later that afternoon.

"Hey, baby girl," Catherine greeted her with a broad smile, scooping the toddler up as she ran over and peppering her face with kisses. "What's this?" she asked, looking at the explosion of color clutched in Angie's hand. "What did you and Grandma make today?"

"Not Grandma," Elizabeth corrected with a smile as she and Joseph joined them. "Grandpa."

"Grandpa?" Catherine repeated, grinning at her father.

"Buh'pwy, Mama!" Angie told her, waving the craft in front of Catherine's face.

"She's been holding on to it ever since she finished," Elizabeth told her. "She couldn't wait to show you."

"Aww, it's beautiful, honey," Catherine said, smiling at Angie. "So many colors."

"We found it when we were shopping for a kit to send to Joan for her kindergarten graduation," Elizabeth said. Her eyes twinkled delightedly. "I thought it was amazing when she grabbed the butterfly off the rack, of all the choices she could have made." Her smile widened. "But then when we got home she insisted Grandpa help her do it, and that was just perfect."

Catherine looked at her father. "And you went right along with it, of course."

"Of course," he said easily. "You know I'm not one to shy away from new experiences, especially when they're with my wonderful granddaughter." He smiled. "And creative, too. I think it'll come as no surprise that the end result looks nothing like the sample picture on the kit."

Catherine smiled, kissing Angie's head. "And I love it even more because it's so original. An Angie original. It's a little big for my butterfly box, but I'll definitely be hanging on to this masterpiece."

"And of course it was Grandpa's suggestion that she give it to you," Elizabeth said.

"Aww," Catherine said, smiling at Joseph.

He returned her smile, though his words were directed at Angie who was following the heartfelt undertones of the conversation, if not every word.

"And in a few years Grandpa will tell you why your mommy is my strong, beautiful butterfly, and why I have a feeling you will be, too."

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**Hope you enjoyed!**

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